Theakston Old Peculier | T & R Theakston Ltd.

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L - Dark brown, nearly black. Clear. Amber-brown light shines through. Beige head that dissipates relatively quickly. Leaves lacing on the side of the glass.
S & T - Aroma of wholegrain graham crackers. Tastes like fizzy water with no real discernible notes at first, then goes into the wholegrain graham crackers taste, but very lightly so. Finally a strange mineralic caramel aftertaste alongside some bitterness, then finishes again with the fizzy water. Lingers on the lips with a mostly bitter tone, with a very slight generic hop-pellet taste.
F - Thin mouthfeel.

It pours a dark brown with a red hue. The aroma is of plenty of caramel, some booze and some faint hops. The flavor is mild and delicate. Some dark fruit flavors and mild bitterness at the end. Smooth mouthfeel. Delicious.

This beer has been around forever. Remember drinking it for the first time in the mid90s. This one rocks the appearance of a brown, dark red toffee and tobacco kind of vibe. Small 1/3" tan colored head. Aroma is a mixture of earth, moss, fire, smoke, tobacco, raisin, dark fruit quad like vibe. Its complex for sure.

Taste is also complex but also muddled. Old ale has always been a catch all kind of style, and that really comes out here. All those aromatics are in the taste, but the booze and bitterness seem amplified more than they should be. Kind of has that twang a quad and bsda/ris bitterness to it. A lot of toffee and bitter dark ripe fruits.

Picked up at Asda in Dyce and enjoyed in my hotel room.
Beautiful deep garnet color with a moderate khaki head that lingered for a moment and then fell, leaving a rim of foam on the edges of the glass.
The aroma was fruity, malty, and jammy with a whiff of ripe banana. Extremely pleasing aroma.
The flavors were rich, with sweet malts and dark fruit cut with an herbal bitterness.
Definitely an enjoyable beer and a true classic.

Very interesting beer that's kind of like a stout but yet lighter and more gluggable. It's a very dark ruby red colour and has fruit flavours like dates, sultanas, orange peel but also burnt wood and a sweetness to lift it all. If you're in Yorkshire you can get a pulled pint of this in selected pubs and I'm telling you, it is an absolute knockout, a different and much smoother experience to the bottle. It's strong too and it only takes a few before you're three sheets to the wind. Enjoy!

This review is written in honour of my Uncle John. This bottle of Theakston Old Peculiar is stamped "best before" March 31, 2006 and was pulled from the cellar on November 28, 2016.

Theakston Old Peculiar looks black on basic inspection but actually reveals gleaming ruby shrapnel against the light. This more than a decade old beer maintains pristine clarity; there's remarkably not even a single speck of sediment to spoil this old geezer's healthy, handsome complexion. Heck, it's even still got its foam! Practically unbelievable.

The nose is a little understated but still an absolute bombshell. All kinds of figgy, fudgy richness emanates from the glass, included in which are dates, prunes, raisins, baking spices and Christmas pudding. It is reminiscent - though lacks the profundity - of another quintessential Old Ale, Thomas Hardy's. Granted, this recipe probably isn't designed to age as long...

Nevertheless, it's held up unexpectedly well. While it's showing signs of age it drinks more graceful than ever. Just as white hair totally suits certain people, some beers actually benefit from oxidization. While it's disappointing those beautiful dried fruit and toasted nut flavours are cut a little short, the oxidized, very sherry-like component isn't at all a detriment.

In fact, it's remarkable how much this bottle of Old Peculiar resembles a quality Oloroso - it shares not only that very dry, oxidated mouthfeel but also the astonishingly complex nutty and figgy flavours as well as nuances of olive, chocolate, musty spice box and a raisiny richness. Curiously, there's even an impression of oak (though it never saw the inside of a barrel).

The hops and specialty malts that went into the mash-tun have faded but remnants remain; beyond the dried fruits is actually a fairly prominent earthiness, a note like a damp forest in the fall. For this we thank the Fuggles which are notoriously grassy and leafy. And roasted barley provides a subtle bittersweet coffee-like note that persists through the finish.

Talk about a visceral, emotional drinking experience! It's rare to find such complexity and graceful aging from a beer that's only 5.6%. I opened the bottle unsure what to expect but fairly certain of disappointment - sometimes it's wonderful to be wrong. Theakston Old Peculiar will certainly go down as one of my all-time favourite finds from the cellar.

This takes me right back to my student days. Rich,fruity and sweet. In fact too sweet for me. Long gone are the days I could sink pint after pint of this. One is enough for this middle aged bore! Still, a very decent beer and one that I'll gladly come back to once in a while.